Applicaton of container closures

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for applying a closure lid to a container comprising a rolling head operable to deform a peripheral flange of the lid to hold it to the container. The rolling head comprises a working roller support structure rotatable about a vertical axis, a series of working rollers mounted on the support structure by roller carriers which are pivotally mounted on the support structure for pivoting movement about horizontal pivot axes and a backing roller disposed about the vertical axis of rotation of the rolling head and acting on the working rollers to bias them laterally outwardly as they run around the peripheral flange of the lid so as to deform it. The rolling head is movable vertically within a chamber which receives the container and can be evacuated to enable the container to be closed under vacuum conditions.

ilnited States Patent [191 Preston Mar. 4, 1975 1 APPLHCATON OFCONTAINER CLOSURES [76] Inventor: Henry Richard Preston, 18 CorellaAve., Melton, Victoria, Australia [22] Filed: Nov. 12, 1973 [21] Appl.No.: 414,730

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Nov. 22, 1972 Australia 1327/72[52] US. Cl. 53/97, 53/338 [51] Int. Cl 1365b 31/02, B65b 7/28 {58]Field of Search 53/86, 97, 101, 102, 330,

Pn'mary E.\aminer-Travis S. McGehee [57] ABSTRACT Apparatus for applyinga closure lid to a container comprising a rolling head operable todeform a peripheral flange of the lid to hold it to the container. Therolling head comprises a working roller support structure rotatableabout a vertical axis, a series of working rollers mounted on thesupport structure by roller carriers which are pivotally mounted on thesupport structure for pivoting movement about horizontal pivot axes anda backing roller disposed about the vertical axis of rotation of therolling head and acting on the working rollers to bias them laterallyoutwardly as they run around the peripheral flange of the lid so as todeform it. The rolling head is movable vertically within a chamber whichreceives the container and can be evacuated to enable the container tobe closed under vacuum conditions.

10 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS1.038.476 9/1912 Bagar 53/338 1,452,410 4/1923 Boucher 53/340 2,033,9513/1936 Nordquist 53/97 X 2,610,779 9/1952 Fouse 53/343 X Z lmmn 55 UAPPLICATON 01F CONTAINER CLOSURES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Fieldof the Invention This invention relates to the fitting of closures tocontainers. It has particular, but not exclusive, application to thevacuum packaging of foodstuffs in drums.

2. Description of Prior Art It is now general practice when preparingsmall goods and other foodstuffs for bulk distribution in drums undervacuum to actually cook the foodstuffs in partially closed drums andthereby expel air from the drums before finally sealing them. There hasbeen to date no satisfactory way of packing precooked or uncookedfootstuffs at ambient temperatures. The present invention enables thisto be achieved. However, although the invention has arisen to satisfy aneed in the field of vacuum packaging, the particular apparatus whichwill be described in detail below incorporates a novel form of rollinghead for deforming a container closure member and this rolling headcould be applied with advantage in drum closing apparatus which does notapply a vacuum to the drum. It is to be understood that the inventionalso extends to such apparatus.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The vacuum packing apparatus of the presentinvention comprises a vessel defining a vacuum chamber and includingdoor means to provide access to the chamber whereby to enable acontainer to be placed in the chamber, means to evacuate the chamberwhen the door means is closed, and container closure member applicatormeans to hold a container closure member within the chamber and operableto apply the closure member to the container while the chamber is evacuated. As used herein, the term evacuated merely implies the generationof a subatmospheric pressure ap propriate to the vacuum packagingtechnique and does not necessarily imply a high vacuum condition.

The invention also extends to apparatus for applying a closure to acontainer, comprising means to support the container and a rolling headoperable to deform a peripheral flange of a container closure memberfitted to the container, wherein the rolling head comprises a workingroller support structure rotatable about an axis of rotation of therolling head, a working roller rotatable on a roller carrier which ispivotally mounted on the support structure to mount the working rollerfor swinging movement laterally of the axis of rotation of the rollinghead, and means to rotate the rolling head and to bias the workingroller laterally outwardly of said axis of rotation.

In order that the invention may be more fully ex plained one particularapparatus for sealing food in drums under vacuum will now be describedin detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a partly sectioned side elevation of the apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a cross-section on the line 2-2 in FIG. ll;

FIG. 3 is a partly sectioned detail of one of a pair of hingessupporting the door of a vacuum vessel of the apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a partly sectioned detail of a valve controlling theapplication of vacuum to the vacuum vessel;

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-section through a rolling head assembly ofthe apparatus prior to application of a drum lid to a drum;

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-section through part of the rolling headassembly shown during application of a lid to a drum; and

FIG. 7 is a diagram of a pneumatic control circuit of the apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE .PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The illustrated apparatus iscomprised of a vessel 11 defining a vacuum chamber 12 and a rollinghead, denoted generally as 13, which is located in the upper part of thechamber and is operable to apply a lid to a drum placed within chamber12.

Vessel 11 is constructed as a sturdy steel pressure vessel with domedfront and rear walls 14, 15 and a peripheral wall 20. The base 16 of thevessel may be welded or otherwise fastened to a stable pedestal framefor appropriate installation in a food packing line. The top part 17 ofthe vessel carries a superstructure 18 which serves as a mounting forthe rolling head assembly 13 and its associated drive motor.

Front wall 14 of vessel 11 has a circular opening surrounded by a flangel9 and a sturdy domed door 21 is swung on a pair of hinges 22, 23 sothat it can be swung from an open position to a position in which itcloses this opening. Flange 19 is grooved and fitted with a rubber orplastic sealing gasket 24 of circular cross-section and the door has athick edge rim 26 provided with a flat face 27 to engage and compressthis gasket. In op eration of the apparatus door 21 is held in theclosed condition by the pressure difference between the evacuatedchamber 12 and the outside atmosphere and no mechanical locking deviceis required. Hinges 22, 23 are constructed to provided a free-floatingaction whereby the door can align itself under the influence of thepressure differential such that gasket 24 will be firmly compressedaround the whole of its periphery. Door 21 is fitted with a U-shapedhandle 28.

The construction of hinges 22, 23 is detailed in FIG. 3. Each comprisesa first articulated hinge structure 29 connected to the front wall 14 ofvessel 11 and a second articulated hinge structure 31 connected to door21 and the two articulated structures are pivotally connected to oneanother by a central hinge pin 32. Hinge structure 29 comprises upperand lower boss portions 33, 34 pivotally connected together by avertical pivot pin 36 formed integrally with the upper boss portion 33and held together by a flat headed retaining stud 37 screwed into thebottom end of pivot pin 36. Lower boss 34 of structure 29 is mountedfrom the vessel wall 14 via a hinge plate 38. The upper boss 33 isconnected by a hinge plate 39 to a boss 41 to receive the upper end ofthe central pivot pin 32.

Hinge structure 31 comprises upper and lower bosses 42, 43 pivotallyconnected by a pivot pin 44 formed integrally with the upper boss andretained together by a flat headed retainer stud 46 screwed into thebottom end of pivot pin 44. Upper boss 42 is mounted from vessel walldoor 21 by a hinge plate 47. The lower boss 43 is connected by a hingeplate 48 to a further boss 49 which carries the central hinge pin 32.

As illustrated, hinge pin 32 may be formed integrally with boss 49 inwhich case the two central bosses 41, 49 may be held against separationby a flat headed retainer stud 51 screwed into the upper end of pivotpin 32. It will be appreciated however that the hinge pin details can bevaried and loose pivot pins can be used.

The construction of upper and lower hinges 22, 23 is identical and thethree pivot pins of the upper hinge are co-axial with the three pivotpins of the lower hinge. The three hinge axes defined by these co-axialpivot pins are disposed in a triangular array when the door 21 is closedas shown in FIG. 2. Because the door can pivot independently about thesethree axes it is free to self align under the influence of the pressuredifference between the evacuated chamber 12 and outside atmosphere toensure proper sealing around the entire circumference of the dooropening.

A vacuum pump 52 is connected to chamber 12 via a vacuum control valve53 and through the rear wall 15 of vessel 11. Vacuum pump 52 may be ofany convenient type and is not fully illustrated. Valve 53 is actuatedby an air cylinder 54. It comprises a valve body 56 defining a centralvalve chamber 57 defined by two coaxial cylindrical bores 58, 59 meetingat a shoulder 61. Air cylinder 54 is mounted on one end of valve body 56and operates a piston rod 62 which extends into valve chamber 57 andcarries a valve disc 63. A vent 64 extends from the lower end of chamber57 to atmosphere and two further ducts 66, 67 are connected respectivelyto the lower part of the chamber defined by bore 59 and the upper partof the chamber defined by bore 58. Duct 67 is connected to the suctionside of vacuum pump 52 and duct 66 extends through the rear wall 15 ofvessel 11 to provide communication with the vacuum chamber 12.

By actuation of air cylinder 54 valve disc 63 can be moved from an upperposition in which it engages shoulder 61 as shown by the full lines inFIG. 4 and a lower position in which it blocks vent 64 as indicated bybroken lines in that figure. When the valve disc is in its loweredposition duct 67 is in communication with duct 66 via valve chamber 57and the vacuum pump is thus connected to chamber 12. When the valve discis raised against shoulder 61, which serves as a valve seat, the chamber12 is vented to atmosphere via vent 64 and the suction side of thevacuum pump is blanked off by the valve disc.

Rolling head assembly 13 is carried at the bottom end of a verticaldrive shaft 71 driven by an electric drive motor 72 which is mounted onsuperstructure 18. More particularly the superstructure is comprised ofa number of vertical rods 73 supporting an upper platform 74 and servingas guide rails for motor slide members 76. The motor. and with it thedrive shaft 71 and the whole rolling head assembly, is thus mounted forvertical movement on rods 73. An air cylinder unit 77 mounted onplatform 74 is connected by a vertical connecting rod 78 to the body ofmotor 72 so as to be operable to control this vertical movement.

Drive shaft 71 extends vertically through a stuffed gland 79 in the topof peripheral wall of vessel 11. The gland is formed by a hollow spigot81 charged with stuffing material 82 which is held in place by a screwcap 83. It permits vertical and rotary movement of shaft 71 relative tothe wall of the chanber while vacuum conditions are maintained withinchamber 12.

The construction of rolling head 13 can best be seen in FIGS. 5 and 6.It comprises a working roller support structure 84 which is fitted tothe lower end of shaft 71 so as to be rotatably coupled to the shaft butfree to move vertically through a limited distance relative to theshaft. Structure 84 is comprised of a generally cylindrical upper member86 and a lower member 87 which is screw fitted to the upper member at88.

Shaft 71 includes a separately formed bottom extension member 89 whichscrews into the main part of the shaft at a screw thread 91. An annularwasher 92 is inserted between the extension part 89 and the main part ofthe shaft to provide an annular shoulder on the shaft within the workingroller support structure 84. A spring 93 disposed within structure 84acts between washer 92 and the lower member 87 of the support structureto bias the support structure downwardly onto an annular flange 94formed on shaft extension member 89 near the lower end of that member.Structure 84 is coupled for rotation with the shaft by one or more pins96 extending outwardly from the shaft engaging one or more verticalslots 97 formed in the upper end of member 86 so that structure 84 canbe raised relative to shaft 71.

The lower member 87 of working roller support structure 84 carries threeworking roller assemblies 101 each comprised of a working roller 102mounted by a roller bearing 103 on an axle 104 which is fastened to acarrier 106 by a fastening nut 107. The three axle carriers 106 arepivotally connected to the lower member 87 of working roller supportstructure 84 by means of three pivot pins 108. More particularly axlecarriers 106 have plate like arms 109 which fit into radial slots 111 inmember 87 and receive pivot pins 108. Working rollers 102 are thusmounted for swinging movement about the pivot pins 108. They are heldspaced apart against inward swinging movement under the influence oftheir weight by engagement with a common backing roller 112 which ismounted by a ball bearing 113 on the lower end of shaft extension member89.

Shaft extension member 89 also carries a magnet holder 114 which holds apermanent magnet 116 of solid cylindrical formation. Holder 114 iscomprised of a bottom socket portion 117 to receive the magnet, avertical rod or stem 118 which extends upwardly through a neat fittingbore in shaft extension member 89 to an enlarged head portion 119 whichis slidable in an enlarged bore 120 in the upper part of the shaftextension member 89. Holder 116 is thus mounted for vertical movementrelative to the bottom end of shaft 71 quite independently of workingroller support structure 84.

In use ofthe apparatus a drum 121 to be closed under vacuum condition isinserted into vacuum chamber 12 to rest on a shelf 122 formed in thebottom part of the chamber. The drum, which may be packed with smallgoods or other foodstuffs (not shown) is of the usual type comprising acylindrical peripheral wall 123, a circular bottom 124 and an annulartop 126 defining a central opening 127 which is to be closed by a lid128. When the drum 121 is placed within chamber 12 the lid is alsoinserted into the chamber and raised against rolling head 13 in whichposition it is retained by magnet 116.

As best seen in FIG. 5 the top opening of the drum has an upwardlyrounded rim 129 produced by a rollforming operation. Lid 128 is ofgenerally dished formation having a central disc part 131 and anupstanding peripheral flange 132 which is outwardly hooked to fit overthe upwardly rounded rim 129 of the drum opening. A plastic sealing ring134 is fitted under hooked flange 132 so as to be compressed betweenthat flange and rim 129.

Each working roller 102 includes an upper head portion 136 having adownwardly facing side face or shoulder 137 to engage the rim of theoutwardly hooked flange 132 and, extending downwardly from the headportion, an entering portion 138 of reduced cross section to enterwithin the peripheral flange. The lower end of entering portion 138 hasa peripheral bead 139 of semi-circular cross-section. it is the upperhead portion 136 of the working rollers which are engaged by backingroller 112, which is of downwardly convergent frusto-conical formation.

As shown in FIG. 5 the entering portions of working rollers 102 fitneatly within lid flange 132 and so provide for accurate centering ofthe lid when it is fitted to the rolling head. Shoulder 137 extends overthe rim of the hooked flange and the bottom roller bead 139 engages theinner wall of the flange.

When a drum and lid have been placed in position within chamber 12,vessel 11 is closed and evacuated by the vacuum pump 52. Air cylinder 77is then operated to lower motor 72, drive shaft 71 and rolling headassembly 13 so that lid 128 is fitted to the drum opening. The motor 72is operated to rotate the shaft 71, working roller support structure 84and the working roller assemblies 101 to cause the working rollers torun around the peripheral flange of the lid. The lid flange engages drumrim 129 before downward movement of the motor and rolling head assemblyis complete. Further downward movement of the rolling head assemblycauses relative vertical movement between structure 84 and shaft 71whereby spring 93 is compressed to produce a strong downward bias onpivot pins 108. At the same time backing roller 112 continues to movedownwardly with shaft 71 and because of its frusto-conical configurationproduces a wedging action tending to spread the working rollers apart.The combined effect of the downward bias on pins 108 and the rollingaction of rollers 112 produces a combined downward and outward force onworking rollers 108 causing downwardly facing roller shoulder 137 tocurve the upper part ofthe lid rim outwardly and downwardly around thedrum rim 129 and the bottom roller bead 139 to indent the flange to formin that flange an outwardly projecting rib 141 which is disposedimmediately below the top wall 126 of the drum and interferes with rim129 to hold the lid firmly in place.

The apparatus may be fitted with automatic control gear to provide anautomatic cycle of operation. The circuit of one suitable control gearis illustrated in FIG. 7. In this figure sources of pressurised air areillustrated by circular symbols and flow lines are indicated by letterswhereas valves are indentified by numerals. The circuit comprises avalve 150 which may be operated in response to actuation of a microswitch 151 mounted on the flange 19 of vessel 11 and actuated by anactuator plate 152 disposed on the rim of the door. When the chamberdoor is closed switch 151 is actuated and valve 150 operates to supplyair from source A to one end of an air control spool valve 153. Thispositions the spool of valve 153 to allow pressurised air to flow fromsource B through line C to the top of air cylinder 54 so operating valve53 to move valve disc 63 downwardly and resulting in evacuation ofchamber 12. Air passing through line C simultaneously passes throughline D to energise timing valve 154 which determines the time ofoperation of vacuum pump 52. This time is predetermined to ensuresufficient evacuation of chamber 12 after which timing valve 8 allowsair to pass from supply source E through line F to one end of a spoolvalve 155. This sets the spool of valve 155 so that pressurised air issupplied from source G through line H to the top of air cylinder unit 77so initiating downward movement of the motor and the rolling headassembly.

Downward movement of the motor and the rolling head assembly causesoperation of a further control valve 156. This may be achieved bymounting a micro switch 157 on the upper end of vessel 11 to be actuatedby a plate 158 on the lower motor slide member 76 as shown in FIG. 1.Operation of valve 156 admits air from source I through lines K and L toinitiate the operation of motor 72, so causing rotation of the workingrollers. Simultaneously air in line K operates a timing valve 159 tocontrol the period of operation of motor 72. After expiration of thispre-set time air flows through from source M through lines N and Q tovalve 153 to reverse the position of the spool in this valve. Thisdiverts the air from source B to the lower end of cylinder unit 54, soraising valve plate 63. Chamber 12 is thus vented to atmosphere via pipe64 and the vacuum pump 52 is isolated from the chamber. At the same timeair from line N passes through line Q to spool valve 155 to reverse thespool in this valve also, thereby diverting air from source G to thelower end of air cylinder unit 77 to raise the motor and the rollinghead assembly to its upper inoperative position.

An emergency valve 161 can be operated at any time by a push-button 162to supply pressure air from source S to lines 0 and 0 so as to resistcontrol valves 153 and 155 such that chamber 12 is vented to atmosphereand the rolling head assembly is raised to its inoperative position.

The control gear is mounted in a casing 163 mounted on the back wall ofvessel 11.

The illustrated apparatus is very simple and effective in operation. Thelocation of the drum and the lid supplying rolling head within anenclosing vacuum chamber obviates the need for any complicated sealsbetween the rolling head and the drum. The manner in which the workingrollers are shaped and pivotally mounted to provide both downward andoutward biasing enables a single set of working rollers to perform thedual purpose of forming the retaining rib 141 in the lid and deformingthe upper end of the lid flange closing around the drum rim 129 soobviating the need for multiple sets of rollers to perform thesefunctions. The illustrated construction has, however, been advanced byway of example only. It is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the details of this construc tion and that many modificationsand variations will fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for applying a lid to the opening of an open-toppedcontainer under vacuum conditions, the container opening having anupwardly rounded rim and the lid having an upstanding, outwardly hookedperipheral flange to fit over and around the container rim, whichapparatus comprises a hollow vessel defining a vacuum chamber andincluding door means to provide access to the chamber whereby the opentopped container can be placed in the chamber; means to evacuate thechamber when the door means is closed; and lid applicator means to holdthe lid within the chamber and operable to apply the lid to the openingof the container while the chamber is evacuated; said applicator meanscomprising a. a rotary rolling head disposed in an upper-part of thechamber and including a working roller support structure rotatable abouta vertical axis of rotation, working roller carriers pivotally mountedon the support structure for pivoting movement about respectivehorizontal pivot axes, and working rollers rotatable on said carriersabout upright roller axes disposed outwardly of said horizontal pivotaxes;

b. lid holding means carried by the rolling head and effective to holdthe lid beneath the rolling head;

c. means to cause relative vertical movement between the container'andthe rolling head whereby to apply the lid to the container opening; and

d. means to rotate the working roller support structure to cause theworking rollers to run on the peripheral flange of the lid.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vessel has a fixedcontainer support and the means to cause relative vertical movementbetween the container and the rolling head is operable to move therolling head vertically with respect to the vessel.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the rolling head is carriedon the bottom end of a rotary drive shaft extending downwardly through atop wall of the vessel and movable up and down through a vacuum sealinggland in that top wall.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upright rotational axesof the working rollers are inclined downwardly and inwardly of said axisof rotation of the rolling head.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein each working roller includesa head portion having a downwardly directed side face to engage the rimof the outwardly hooked peripheral flange of the lid and, extendingdownwardly from said side face, an entering portion of reducedcross-section to enter within the said peripheral flange, said enteringportion having an outwardly projecting rib or bead to engage the innerwall of the outwardly hooked flange whereby on operation of the rollinghead the side faces of the working roller head portions forces the rimof the lid flange around the rim of the container and the ribs or beadsof the working rollers indent the iner wall of the lid flange to formtherein a rib which projects outwardly beneath the container rim to holdthe lid in place on the container.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rolling head carries abacking roller disposed about the axis of rotation ofthe rolling head,which backing roller is tapered and is movable longitudinally of saidaxis of rotation relative to the working roller support structure onoperation of the applicator means to wedge the working rollers laterallyoutwardly of said axis of rota tron.

7. Vacuum packaging apparatus comprising a vessel defining a vacuumchamber and including door means to provide access to the chamberwhereby to enable a container to be placed in the chamber, means toevacuate the chamber when the door means is closed and container closuremember applicator means to hold a container closure member within thechamber and operable to apply the closure member to the container whilethe chamber is evacuated;

wherein said closure member applicator means comprises rotary rollinghead rotatable about an axis which rolling head comprises;

a. at least one working roller to run around and to deform a peripheralflange of a circular closure member whereby to complete the closure;

b. a working roller support structure rotatable about the axis ofrotation of the rolling head;

0. a roller carrier for the or each working roller pivotally mounted onthe support structure to mount the respective working roller forswinging movement laterally of the axis of rotation of the rolling head;and

d. a backing roller disposed about the axis of rotation of the rollinghead to engage the or each working roller which backing roller istapered and movable longitudinally of said axis of rotation relative tothe working roller support structure on operation of the applicatormeans to wedge the or each working roller laterally outwardly of saidaxis of rotation; and

wherein the or each working roller includes a head portion having a sideface to engage the rim of an outwardly hooked peripheral flange of aclosure member and, extending from said side face an entering portion ofreduced cross-section to enter within said peripheral flange, saidentering portion having an outwardly projecting rib or bead to engagethe inner wall of the outwardly hooked flange whereby on operation ofthe applicator means said side face holds the rim of the hookedperipheral flange to said rib or bead indents the inner wall of thehooked flange to form therein an outwardly projecting rib to engage theinterior side of the container rim.

8. Apparatus for applying a closure to a container,

comprising:

means to support the container and a rolling head operable to deform aperipheral flange of a container closure member fitted to the container,wherein the rolling head comprises a working roller support structurerotatable about an axis of rotation of the rolling head, a workingroller rotatable on a roller carrier which is pivotally mounted on thesupport structure to mount the working roller for swinging movementlaterally of the axis of rotation of the rolling head, means to rotatethe rolling head and a backing roller disposed about said axis ofrotation to engage the working roller, which backing roller is taperedand is movable longitudinally of said axis of rotation relative to theworking roller support structure on operation of the rolling head towedge the working roller laterally outwardly of the axis of rotation.

9. Apparatus for applying a lid to the opening of an open-toppedcontainer, the container opening having an upwardly rounded rim and thelid having an upstanding, outwardly hooked peripheral flange to fit overand around the container rim, which apparatus comprises:

a. a container support;

b. a rotary rolling head disposed above the container support andincluding a working roller support structure rotatable about a verticalaxis of rotation, working roller carriers pivotally mounted on thesupport structure for pivoting movement about respective horizontalpivot axes, and working rollers rotatable on said carriers about uprightroller axes; standing, outwardly hooked peripheral flange to fit c.means to cause relative vertical movement beover and around thecontainer rim, which apparatus tween the container support and therolling head; comprises: and a. a container support; d. means to rotatethe working roller support strucb. a rotary rolling head disposed abovethe container ture to cause the working rollers to run on the peripheralflange of the lid and thereby to deform it to effect a containerclosure, wherein each working roller includes a head portion having adownwardly support and including a working roller support structurerotatable about a vertical axis of rotation, working roller carrierspivotally mounted on the support structure for pivoting movement aboutredirected side face to engage the rim of the outspective horizontalpivot axes, and working rollers wardly hooked peripheral flange to thelid and, exrotatable on said carriers about upright roller axes; tendingdownwardly from said side face, an entermeans to cause relative verticalmovement being portion of reduced cross-section to enter within tweenthe container support and the rolling head; the said peripheral flange,said entering portion and having an outwardly projecting rib or bead toend. means to rotate the working roller support strucgage the inner wallof the outwardly hooked flange ture to cause the working rollers to runon the pewhereby on operation of the rolling head the side ripheralflange of the lid and thereby to deform it faces of the working rollerhead portions forces the to effect a container closure, wherein therolling rim ofthe lid flange around the rim ofthe container head carriesa backing roller disposed about the and the ribs or beads of the workingrollers indent axis of rotation of the rolling head, which backing theinner wall of the lid flange to form therein a rib roller is tapered andis movable longitudinally of which projects outwardly beneath thecontainer said axis of rotation relative to the working roller rim tohold the lid in place on the container. support structure on operationof the applicator 10. Apparatus for applying a lid to the opening of anmeans to wedge the working rollers laterally outopen-topped container,the container opening having wardly of said axis of rotation. anupwardly rounded rim and the lid having an up-

1. Apparatus for applying a lid to the opening of an open-toppedcontainer under vacuum conditions, the container opening having anupwardly rounded rim and the lid having an upstanding, outwardly hookedperipheral flange to fit over and around the container rim, whichapparatus comprises a hollow vessel defining a vacuum chamber andincluding door means to provide access to the chamber whereby the opentopped container can be placed in the chamber; means to evacuate thechamber when the door means is closed; and lid applicator means to holdthe lid within the chamber and operable to apply the lid to the openingof the container while the chamber is evacuated; said applicator meanscomprising a. a rotary rolling head disposed in an upper-part of thechamber and including a working roller support structure rotatable abouta vertical axis of rotation, working roller carriers pivotally mountedon the support structure for pivoting movement about respectivehorizontal pivot axes, and working rollers rotatable on said carriersabout upright roller axes disposed outwardly of said horizontal pivotaxes; b. lid holding means carried by the rolling head and effective tohold the lid beneath the rolling head; c. means to cause relativevertical movement between the container and the rolling head whereby toapply the lid to the container opening; and d. means to rotate theworking roller support structure to cause the working rollers to run onthe peripheral flange of the lid.
 2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1,wherein the vessel has a fixed container support and the means to causerelative vertical movement between the container and the rolling head isoperable to move the rolling head vertically with respect to the vessel.3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the rolling head is carriedon the bottom end of a rotary drive shaft extending downwardly through atop wall of the vessel and movable up and down through a vacuum sealinggland in that top wall.
 4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein theupright rotational axes of the working rollers are inclined downwardlyand inwardly of said axis of rotation of the rolling head.
 5. Apparatusas claimed in claim 1, wherein each working roller includes a headportion having a downwardly directed side face to engage the rim of theoutwardly hooked peripheral flange of the lid and, extending downwardlyfrom said side face, an entering portion of reduced cross-section toenter within the said peripheral flange, said entering portion having anoutwardly projecting rib or bead to engage the inner wall of theoutwardly hooked flange whereby on operation of the rolling head theside faces of the working roller head portions forces the rim of the lidflange around the rim of the container and the ribs or beads of theworking rollers indent the iner wall of the lid flange to form therein arib which projects outwardly beneath the container rim to hold the lidin place on the container.
 6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe rolling head carries a backing roller disposed about the axis ofrotation of the rolling head, which backing roller is tapered and ismovable longitudinally of said axis of rotation relative to the workingroller support structure on operation of the applicator means to wedgethe working rollers laterally outwardly of said axis of rotation. 7.Vacuum packaging apparatus comprising a vessel defining a vacuum chamberand including door means to provide access to the chamber whereby toenable a container to be placed in the chamber, means to evacuate thechamber when the door means is closed and container closure memberapplicator means to hold a container closure member within the chamberand operable to apply the closure member to the container while thechamber is evacuated; wherein said closure member applicator meanscomprises rotary rolling head rotatable about an axis which rolling headcomprises; a. at least one working roller to run around and to deform aperipheral flange of a circular closure member whereby to complete theclosure; b. a working roller support structure rotatable about the axisof rotation of the rolling head; c. a roller carrier for the or eachworking roller pivotally mounted on the support structure to mount therespective working roller for swinging movement laterally of the axis ofrotation of the rolling head; and d. a backing roller disposed about theaxis of rotation of the rolling head to engage the or each workingroller which backing roller is tapered and movable longitudinally ofsaid axis of rotation relative to the working roller support structureon operation of the applicator means to wedge the or each working rollerlaterally outwardly of said axis of rotation; and wherein the or eachworking roller includes a head portion having a side face to engage therim of an outwardly hooked peripheral flange of a closure member and,extending from said side face an entering portion of reducedcross-section to enter within said peripheral flange, said enteringportion having an outwardly projecting rib or bead to engage the innerwall of the outwardly hooked flange whereby on operation of theapplicator means said side face holds the rim of the hooked peripheralflange to said rib or bead indents the inner wall of the hooked flangeto form therein an outwardly projecting rib to engage the interior sideof the container rim.
 8. Apparatus for applying a closure to acontainer, comprising: means to support the container and a rolling headoperable to deform a peripheral flange of a container closure memberfitted to the container, wherein the rolling head comprises a workingroller support structure rotatable about an axis of rotation of therolling head, a working roller rotatable on a roller carrier which ispivotally mounted on the support structure to mount the working rollerfor swinging movement laterally of the axis of rotation of the rollinghead, means to rotate the rolling head and a backing roller disposedabout said axis of rotation to engage the working roller, which backingroller is tapered and is movable longitudinally of said axis of rotationrelative to the working roller support structure on operation of therolling head to wedge the working roller laterally outwardly of the axisof rotation.
 9. Apparatus for applying a lid to the opening of anopen-topped container, the container opening having an upwardly roundedrim and the lid having an upstanding, outwardly hooked peripheral flangeto fit over and around the container rim, which apparatus comprises: a.a container support; b. a rotary rolling head disposed above thecontainer support and including a working roller support structurerotatable About a vertical axis of rotation, working roller carrierspivotally mounted on the support structure for pivoting movement aboutrespective horizontal pivot axes, and working rollers rotatable on saidcarriers about upright roller axes; c. means to cause relative verticalmovement between the container support and the rolling head; and d.means to rotate the working roller support structure to cause theworking rollers to run on the peripheral flange of the lid and therebyto deform it to effect a container closure, wherein each working rollerincludes a head portion having a downwardly directed side face to engagethe rim of the outwardly hooked peripheral flange to the lid and,extending downwardly from said side face, an entering portion of reducedcross-section to enter within the said peripheral flange, said enteringportion having an outwardly projecting rib or bead to engage the innerwall of the outwardly hooked flange whereby on operation of the rollinghead the side faces of the working roller head portions forces the rimof the lid flange around the rim of the container and the ribs or beadsof the working rollers indent the inner wall of the lid flange to formtherein a rib which projects outwardly beneath the container rim to holdthe lid in place on the container.
 10. Apparatus for applying a lid tothe opening of an open-topped container, the container opening having anupwardly rounded rim and the lid having an upstanding, outwardly hookedperipheral flange to fit over and around the container rim, whichapparatus comprises: a. a container support; b. a rotary rolling headdisposed above the container support and including a working rollersupport structure rotatable about a vertical axis of rotation, workingroller carriers pivotally mounted on the support structure for pivotingmovement about respective horizontal pivot axes, and working rollersrotatable on said carriers about upright roller axes; c. means to causerelative vertical movement between the container support and the rollinghead; and d. means to rotate the working roller support structure tocause the working rollers to run on the peripheral flange of the lid andthereby to deform it to effect a container closure, wherein the rollinghead carries a backing roller disposed about the axis of rotation of therolling head, which backing roller is tapered and is movablelongitudinally of said axis of rotation relative to the working rollersupport structure on operation of the applicator means to wedge theworking rollers laterally outwardly of said axis of rotation.